The Islands Sinfonia and Ginni Keith will present the first of a series of benefit concerts for the Lopez Family Options Program, which comes under the umbrella of services offered by DVSAS (Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault of the San Juan Islands). The program will feature works by Haydn, Mozart, Bach, and Williams. Desserts, hot beverages and good conversation will all be had after the concert, which will be held at the Lopez Island Community Center at 3:00 p.m. on Feb. 21. There will be a requested $15 donation at the door that will go to help fund FOP (the Family Options Program).
On January 24, one day before Robert Burns’ actual birthday, January 25, 1759, the Scottish Country Dancers of San Juan Island hosted a Burns Supper to celebrate the life and times of this inspiring Scottish poet and lyricist. This year was especially important, as it marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, or the Bard of Ayrshire, as he is also known.
Request from the
Residents of the San Juans and Anacortes will rally Feb. 18 in Olympia to pursuade legislators to preserve ferry funding. They hope to go armed with vox populi, in the form of a petition. The petition is online at www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?plancfcp&101
BOSTON — It must be the world’s longest-running game of ideological pingpong. In 1984, Ronald Reagan aimed an overhand smash at international organizations, pledging that America would no longer give family planning money to any group that even counseled or referred women for abortions. Ping.
Community Calendar
Public Disclosure Forum
Budget cutbacks everywhere are causing local programs to pursue different and creative ways of maintaining services. This is especially true of the county park services, whose amenities and locations offer sanctuary to visitors and islanders alike.
Island Rec’s Start Smart Sports Development class for 3-5 year olds filled up so quick that a second session has been added. The second session will be held on Saturdays, Feb. 14th-March 21 at 11:15 am-12:15 pm.
Friday Harbor, Wa. — A new research paper published by researchers working closely with The Whale Museum shows that the endangered killer whales of Puget Sound raise their voices in direct proportion with increasing underwater noise; that increasing underwater noise correlates with increasing numbers of vessels in the neighborhood of the whales.
On February, 3rd at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Gene Helfman will give a free public lecture entitled “Fascinating Fishes of the Pacific Northwest” for the Orcas Island Marine Lecture Series. This lecture also will be given for the Lopez Community on February 4th at 7 p.m
At the Outlook Inn, Eastsound, Orcas, the inauguration celebration for 44th President Barack Obama took place on a frosty, foggy Tuesday; co-coordinator Nancy Schafer commented, “It was great! About 100 people came and there were adults as well as lots of kids; people were very much in a celebratory mood. We all watched a recording of the speech, and some other pieces put together by Chris Thomerson, a local media guru. One was a speech prior to the music performance on Sunday, as well as Pete Seeger singing This Land is Your Land. There was a strong community focus and lots of spirit. Obama himself visited in the form of a lifesize cardboard cutout….we ordered him through a store in Seattle with no way of getting him here….we were able to to transport him from Boeing field via Kenmore Air, but he got fogged in. Then the next day he was able to get on the flight, but only to Friday Harbor; this cardboard cutout went through a whole lot of trouble to make it here, but thanks to the coordination of people on different islands, he arrived safely.”
WASHINGTON — And so it was over. Just like that. The moving trucks behind the White House packed up 43 and unpacked 44. George W. Bush accompanied the man who had pilloried him up to the Capitol. Barack H. Obama was sworn in to office by the chief justice he had voted against confirming.
